For Never
by Wishscapes
Summary: Edward's fight to win Bella back is hindered by the creation of a new vampire in his new absence, a new vampire that has 'a thing' for Bella. Plus, Bella's never ending circle of hurt involving Jacob and Edward is only deepened when Edward returns.
1. Flight

He sat and watched her window like a hawk watches his prey; like a father watches his daughter; like a friend watches over another. Her window stood above the tree tops like the turret of a castle; always there, always shining, always filled with distant memories of a once upon a time in love. On his roof, nothing mattered. It was simply him; simply being, simply existing, miserably and pathetically. A façade that, he thought, had been kept so well began to fail. It was torn apart by the simple memory of her name, of her blush, of her warmth…no, he thought. It would be suicide to let his mind wander further into the depths of his memories. It would be murder for them both if he returned. Ever.

---

She clutched the hole that ate away at her constantly, slowly eroding away what was left of her shattered heart. He had not shattered it; no, it was much worse than that. He had tossed it into a blender, thrown it around, rubbed it into the dirt, and pushed it over a cliff without looking back. Her window was open, if just by centimeters, but she wouldn't admit the reason why. No, after all these months of no letters, no phone calls, no emails, it was a daring hope to hope that it would make a difference. Who was she kidding? He wasn't coming back. Not now. Not ever.

_**Edwards POV**_

There was nothing. There was everything. Simply her smell. Her scent. Her perfume, that life giving perfume. It had been so long since I had smelt it, so so long. What was I doing here? She did not deserve me. My angel, my love, my… Bella. I breathed her name inwardly with a sigh. Then it hit again; the pain. The ongoing, everlasting, constant, searing pain. It would never leave as long as she endured. But, not like it would matter if she ever ceased to exist, for I would not last long after that. I snorted. As long as the pain was coming, I might as well live it thoroughly. In a moment of pure, rash decision, I gave myself over to my heart and ran; I ran for Bella.

_Edward._

My legs crumpled; I grasped my side as if I were on the brink of detonation. It

had been so long since I had heard that voice.

_Don't do this Edward._

That voice, again. Where was it coming from?

Alice. I would know that voice anywhere. But, where was anywhere?

_You left her once Edward. It was your choice. Why are you going back? She won't want you. You're just contradicting yourself. Don't do this. You know—_

A snarl rumbled deep in my chest, and I closed my mind off. I rose off the ground, and away I ran. I would prove her wrong. Bella would take me back. I would prove Alice wrong.

As I ran, I listened for sounds of chase; nothing fell upon my ears. It was odd that she didn't try harder to stop me; that wasn't typical of Alice.

Then again, what had been typical in my life in the past year?

Bella's window neared my view, and I fell into a pattern that seemed too familiar. It was warm; warm like Bella. This time, her smell hit me for real. It stopped me dead in my tracks (no pun intended). I swiftly climbed up her window, the hole in my heart becoming one for just a moment, the moment before it shattered again or was mended by my true of loves; the moment before Bella finally looked into my eyes for the first time since I left her.

And what my eyes met, I thought I would never see.


	2. Surprises, Idiots, and Reunions

A pair of blood red eyes drilled into my own black ones, filled with hate with a vengeance. I had closed my mind to shut out Alice, but now I opened it up and pulled in whatever I could. When in the world had this happened? Why didn't Alice see it? I cursed myself silently, and then such a powerful scent slammed into me that all train of thought stopped. My attention was immediately averted to my angel.

Bella.

She slowly moved her chin up so that she could see me more plainly, and when she finally comprehended that I was right in front of her, her heart stopped. I could still hear it clearly, just like I always had been able to. Her mouth fell open in a heartbreakingly beautiful pout; her pale skin framed by her dark brown hair; her chocolate eyes fraught with too many emotions to read.

"Bella." I breathed. I moved to take a step towards my angel, to hold her, to love her, to beg for forgiveness for leaving her, when an iron force slammed into my body.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" a deep voice hissed at me with the intensity of a scream. The hands were searing hot against my cool skin as if they were about to combust.

"Wha…?" I began, when I was cut off.

"Mike! Stop it! It's…" Bella trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

_Mike Newton??? _I thought. What is he doing here? How did he…?

"The bloodsucker doesn't deserve to be near you, Bella. He hurt you. I don't trust him." Mike said through gritted teeth. He sounded a lot like Jacob Black. Too much, in fact.

"Well, don't forget that you have a lot more in common with him than you're willing to admit," She scolded. Then, she finally returned her attention back to me. "Edward…" she whispered.

"Yes. I'm here, love." I wanted so badly to hold her, to kiss her…

She had frozen, her face chiseled from ice. Oh, how beautiful she was. How breathtaking! I could see her processing what was happening, the fact that I had come back, that I was here, the hope that I still loved her, and then, the denial.

"Of course not. Why would he?" She thought for a second longer, and then turned to Mike.

"Leave," She commanded. Oh, my sweet, sweet Bella.

"But he'll…"

"Just leave, Mike." She looked at him with such desperation, that I don't blame him for respecting her wishes. She could melt ice with that look. Mike silently jumped out of the window and ran away quickly. Much too fast for a human…

"What are you doing here, Edward?" Bella gasped. She was holding her side for dear life; clinging to it like she once clung to me.

"I… I couldn't stand it anymore, Bella, love, I… I missed you. I love you." I was at such a loss for words. There wasn't anything that could describe my angst, my longing, my desire for her in our time apart. I had to win her back.

"You shouldn't have left."

"No, it was wrong of me to do so. So very wrong. Please, angel, forgive me…"

"Edward," she sighed, "I need time to sort this out. So much has happened since you left. When you left, I died. You can't expect everything to go back to normal. It's not that simple. Nothing ever will be that simple, again." Her words stung me; Alice had been right. I could feel the bouts of pain coming, and I knew I would have to leave, soon. She could not see me in all of my suffering. Quickly, I stepped forward and left a tender kiss on her cheek (oh, how I wished for so much more!) and as I jumped out, I realized something that I would have never thought that I would do -- I had followed Mike's footsteps out of Bella's window. .

---

"Newton." I said. The pallid figure in front of me froze. There was a whish of air, and then suddenly, he was inches from my face.

"What do you want, bloodsucker?" he spat.

"I believe that we both fall under that category now, you know." I retorted coolly. There was a subtle triumphant ring to my words. His eyes widened in shock, and said nothing back.

"No… we're different. I don't drink…" he responded feebly. I cut him off, and offered something I never thought I would offer to the vile Mike Newton: help.

"I think you should tell me what happened. From the beginning. I can help."

He just shook his head, and took a step back, but in his mind, I saw exactly what I needed to know. Apparently Bella still held at least some loyalty to me, and hadn't given away all my secrets.

---

_Flashback_

_Everything was sunny outside for once. It was absolutely the most perfect day to visit Bella, what with that Cullen kid she dated for so long gone and all, Mike thought. His green Suburban pulled into the driveway of Bella's house, and out jumped Mike, happily singing along to the latest Yellowcard CD as he sauntered up to the front door. I'll bet she'll be thrilled when I show her what I have planned for us today! He thought. If only he knew how wrong he was. Ringing the doorbell, he listened as the chimes resounded inside, slicking his hair back as he waited. The door rapidly flew open and a flash of red caught Mike by the collar, dragging him inside. The living room was a disaster, as if a fight had been staged throughout and only one person had had the upper hand. Before he was able to gather the rest of his surroundings, Bella screeched "Mike!!", but it was too late; Victoria was too fast. Mike writhed in pain as Victoria sunk her teeth deep into his soft neck, right below the jaw. The rest was muddled in Mike's memory; just a blur of pain as Mike tried to reach pas tit, but he could still tell that Victoria, hearing Charlie's truck rumbling around the corner, fled exposure and left Mike bleeding in the living room, with a sobbing, broken Bella on the stairs. "Oh, Mike, Mike, Mike, what are we going to do?" she gasped. "Charlie's coming and Vic... Vic… Victoria…" Bella blubbered. Running on pure adrenaline, Bella tried to regain her senses and steadied Mike on her shoulder, hobbling to her truck as quickly as she could. Thankfully, Bella didn't trip, and after leaving a quick note for Charlie, she set off to take Mike to the only place she knew could possibly be of any help; the old, abandoned Cullen mansion._

_End of flashback_

_---_

Mike Newton. A vampire. The first thing that hit me was the fact that he would be around for all eternity to chase my Bella. She was mine! I snarled with jealousy, angered at this unseen turn of events.

"How long, Mike?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Since… what?" He asked. Oh, the naivety of this narrow minded teenage boy!

"Since you turned." What else would I be asking about, boy? How long since you last took a stop in the john?

"Oh. A few weeks, I guess. I don't remember." How could he not remember? Stupid, brainless, wretch. It's not like transformation was something that you easily forgot.

"Have you fed?" Oh, please say…

"No!" Sigh. Not the answer I was hoping for. He was looking at me, repulsed at the very thought of blood.

"You need to."

"I said, no."

"You'll hurt Bella if you don't." As much as it hurt me to use Bella as bait to convince Mike to feed, it worked. He looked at me, incredulous. "Do you not know anything? Soon enough, you'll become so sick with thirst, that you'll attack anything and everything in your path, Bella included. At least, judging by the amount time that you seem to have spent with her... recently." At this remark, Mike smiled smugly. _So I finally beat him at something, eh? _ He thought. "I. Know. What. You're. Thinking." I said, again through gritted teeth. I do not have an endless amount of control, and tonight my patience was wearing dangerously thin. (And we all know, an impatient vampire, especially Edward, is not a good thing.) Another disbelieving look from Mike made me wonder just exactly how many things I would have to explain to this rather dull individual tonight. "I thought Bella would have told you. There are some vampires who receive special talents when they are transformed. These powers carry over from particularly strong human traits. I can read minds. There are more detailed parts of it, but Carlisle will explain later. For now, we need to feed." This statement was true; I hadn't planned on seeing Bella, so I probably hadn't fed as long as Mike. I could tell that this was going to be one heck of a night.

----

Turns out, Mike is a very messy eater. I don't think that he can do anything right, nothing at all in this world. I was just too eager to get back to Bella to bother teaching him much, I suppose, but I knew I wouldn't be welcome for at least the rest of the night. Her words still rang in my head, and I clung to them like a life vest. There was still hope that she would forgive me, and I would do everything in my power to make that come true. With these thoughts in mind, I headed towards our mansion in the woods to begin the reassembly of the Cullen family. I had spent a large part of the morning in the meadow that Bella and I had shared. Of course, only after strictly instructing Mike to stay out of the sun (among other things) — and to keep a low profile until we figured out what to do with him. It was like babysitting a two year old, expect worse, because this two year old happened to lust after the love of my… well, eternity. My feet glided over the sticks and branches on the way to my house as I thought about all of this, completely ignorant of my surroundings. Suddenly, the forest floor was no longer beneath my feet, but instead zooming up towards my face. I fell to the ground, burning with humiliation. A tiny foot stood where my feet had been moments before, and as I looked up, I saw who it was: Alice. Dammit! I would have to get used to keeping my mind more open now, if I planned on spending any time around actual beings again.

Alice smiled down at me with a smile that I hadn't seen in a very, very long time. Her eyes glinted with the designs of a new plan. She was still very much in practice of blocking her mind from me, a habit that I simply abhorred, but I still knew that she had big plans for the future. I leapt to my feet, and behind her I saw the rest of my family standing; Carlisle's arms wrapped around Esme, Jasper standing with his hand on the small of Alice's back, and Rosalie practically on top of Emmett. They were all staring back at me with love I hadn't acknowledged in a long time.

"It's _so _good to see you again, Edward!" Alice smiled. She danced towards me and wrapped me in a hug.

"It's good to be home, Alice."

"Well, it's a good thing that you are, because you wouldn't _believe _the plans that I have for us!"

"Oh, believe me, I can hardly wait."


End file.
